Episode 1386: Amateur Hour
Date June 6, 2019 Summary Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Cubs signing Craig Kimbrel, ruminating about how he’ll help Chicago, why other teams may have held off, and why it took so long for his prolonged free agency to come to a close. Then (18:06) they bring on FanGraphs prospect experts Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen to analyze the amateur draft and modern development, touching on player picks and team approaches they liked or disliked, how their mock drafts held up, pitchers vs. position players, trends in the types of players selected, whether there’s more consensus among clubs about amateur prospects than there used to be, how data is changing the draft and development, whether technology is inclusive or exclusive, college pitch counts, 2018 draftees who’ve improved the most, whether prospects will be promoted more quickly than before, changing the time and location of the draft, the outlook for the 2020 amateur draft, the ETA for (and problems with) an international draft, and more (plus a Dallas Keuchel addendum). Topics * Reviewing the 2019 MLB Draft * Impact of mock drafts * Tendency towards picking more position players at the top of the draft * Long and short term draft trends * Consensus among top prospects * How data is changing the draft and early player development * Upcoming college pitchers and usage rates * Outlook for the 2020 draft * Potential changes to the timing and location of the draft * Looking back at 2018 draftees * Will there be an international draft, and what would it look like? * Dallas Keuchel signing with the Braves * Episode 1383 follow-up: Elton's fantasy league Intro Jim James, "Better Late Than Never" Interstitial Sparks, "Reinforcements" Outro Super Furry Animals, "The Gift That Keeps Giving" Banter * Craig Kimbrel finally signed for 3 years and $45 million with the Chicago Cubs. * Changes to baseball economics and why it took so long for Kimbrel to sign * Upcoming CBA negotiations and what players should prioritize Notes * Meg, on Kimbrel, "We just have to hope he pitches well, because if he's bad Twitter is going to be unbearable." * Kiley and Eric think there is increased consensus among teams about who the top prospects are because a greater number of decisions are data based rather than created from in-person scouting reports. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 1386: Amateur Hour * After a frigid offseason, Cubs finally agree to deal with All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel by Ken Rosenthal * Lots of teams could have signed Craig Kimbrel, and didn't by Ken Rosenthal * Craig Kimbrel Is No Longer a Free Agent by Craig Edwards * An Update on How to Value Draft Picks by Craig Edwards * Day 1 Draft Review by Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel * Draft Odds & Ends by Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel * Starting Them Young, Part One by Rany Jazayerli * Starting Them Young, Part Two by Rany Jazayerli * Spurning College to Get Pro Development by Kiley McDaniel * Want to Play Pro Baseball? There's an App for That by Ben Lindbergh * Examining 2019 College Pitcher Workloads by Gerald Schifman * The trends that will shape the first round of the MLB draft by Eno Sarris * The Untitled McDongenhagen Project, Episode 15 * The West Coast has a new pair of bash brothers and their names are Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani by Matt Monagan Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes